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tv   Happening Now  FOX News  July 21, 2011 8:00am-10:00am PDT

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a. patti ann: back again. bill: all right, "happening now" starts right now. jenna: hi, everybody, hope you're off to a good thursday, i'm jenna lee. jon: and i'm jon scott, we're here in the fox newsroom, and "happening now," buying time on the debt crisis. the obama administration signaling it is open now to a short-term deal that would raise the debt ceiling. only, though, if congressional leaders can agree on a, quote, significant deficit reduction plan. the short-term deal would give congress time to pass a larger plan and avert possible government default august 2nd, but right now 12 days from that deadline, there is no deal on anything. jenna: ifs and maybes. in the meantime, fox news poll showing 60% of americans would vote against raising the debt limit. the showdown over the future of america's financial security come against, well, another
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reminder of the grim economic reality we're all facing. jon: those new weekly jobless claims just out today came out higher than expected, 418,000 americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits. wendall goler live at the white house right now, explain the president's offer for this short-term extension of the debt ceiling. >> reporter: well, you pretty much had it. the president won't agree to extend the time of the august 2nd deadline for lawmakers to reach a deficit-cutting agreement, but if they agree on a deal, he'll give them a few more days to turn it into legislation and put it on his desk. and the best hope, it appears, for a bipartisan compromise appears to be the so-called gang of six proposal which would trim the deficit about $3 be.7 trillion -- $3.7 trillion. it includes more than a trillion dollars in increased tax revenue, but the president, the white house and some republican members of the gang of six hope they can sell it to house republicans, the vast majority of whom have signed a new no new
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taxes pledge. >> i don't want to give political advice to either the members of either party, but i think it is, certainly, a worthwhile argument to make that, um, closing a loophole is not raising, you know, an average american's taxes. it's simply not. >> reporter: now, the president met separately yesterday with democratic leaders of the house and senate and republican leaders of the house. house majority leader eric cantor who has been the republicans' toughest negotiator says the gang of six proposal has some constructive ideas, but he says there's some areas he needs more detail in. jon? jon: wendall, despite the warnings of what happens if country's borrowing power isn't increased, that new fox poll that suggests most people are against it, right? >> reporter: and it's not even close, jon. 60% of the respondents to the fox poll don't agree with the
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idea of raising the debt limit, and you can begin to understand why when you look at some other questions in the poll. most people, 55%, don't believe that failing to raise the debt ceiling would lead to a financial catastrophe. less than 40% do. this despite warnings from republicans and democrats that the first-ever default in u.s. history could lead to a global recession. meanwhile, the president's job approval rating still stuck below 50%, and it's slightly behind his disapproval rating though with a margin of error plus or minus 3%, they are statistically even. jon? jon: wendall goler at the white house, thank you. jenna: more action today on capitol hill where right now the senate banking committee is holding a hearing on the biggest shake-up of financial regulations in nearly a century. it's the one-year anniversary for the dodd-frank legislation, and virtually since day one there's been growing calls to scale back the wall street reform act or repeal it altogether. you're looking at some live
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shots there inside that committee hearing. fox business network's peter barnes is live in washington. so, peter, one of the questions we always asks when it comes on the other end of being in a crisis is are we safer? are these laws going to prevent us from having another financial crisis like the one we just got through? >> reporter: well, jenna, supporters of this law say the chances of another big financial crisis and another big taxpayer bailout are lower now thanks to the law. president obama signed it a year ago today, as you mentioned. treasury secretary timothy geithner says the financial system is stronger by almost any measure now, but critics say consumers and taxpayers are still at risk. the law required the sec and other regular lay -- regulators to write 243 new rules but regulators have completed fewer than 50 of those. other critics say they don't want these new rules anyway. they are hurting innovation, economic growth and job creation, jenna. jenna: we talk about financial regulation, there's a slew of different changes, and it's easy to get a little wonky, peter,
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right? what are some of the changes that are happening today when it comes to our regulatory reform? is. >> reporter: hey, jenna, i love that o.k. with key stuff. jenna: i know you do. [laughter] >> reporter: sorry about that. you're right, today the confidential consumer protection bureau officially opens for business be, but it does not have a director yet, so its powers are are limited. one regulator that got poor grades for overseeing the savings and be loan industry -- and be a lot of those firms went under in the financial crisis -- that agency is closing today, the office of thrift supervision. finally, the gao estimates that the first year of dodd-frank will cost 11 agencies nearly a trillion dollars to implement that, of course, as taxpayer money. jenna? jenna: well, a trillion or a billion, peter, is it a trillion dollars? >> reporter: i'm sorry, a billion. thank you for catching that. see? i'm not wonky enough. [laughter] jenna: we saw it on the full screen, so i thought if i saw it, maybe the viewers saw it
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too. the either way, it's a lot of zeros. peter barnes, thank you very much. jon: a lot of zeros in the thermometer gauges these days as well. dangerous and deadly heat has a stifling grip on most of the country right now. the national weather service is placing 33 states under heat advisories. at least 22 people have died across the country because of heat-related injuries. louisiana just one of the states where it's so hot that roads are buckling under the intense heat. >> it's not only the major blow-ups, but it's also those smaller ones that we have to take care of. trying to keep up with these blow-ups and trying to make it as safe as possible for the city. jon: road crews can't even keep up with the problems. people there say this week is really bad. heather childers on the streets of new york city for us where it is expected to reach 100 degrees today. how's everybody dealing with it,
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heather. heather: it is hot. i am no meteorologist, but i can tell you that. it is hot, it is steamy, even with this slight breeze we're experiencing. i have my giant thermometer, and you mentioned it's expected to rise to 100 degrees. right now we're looking at just slightly above 90 degrees, but temperatures expected to top out in the midwestern states experiencing this heat. that should happen today. the eastern states, hot temperatures should top out, um, around today or tomorrow. so at least a little bit of good news. 1600 miles affected, that's what we're talking about across the country from nebraska to southern maine. people affected, estimated to be over 104 million. and you were talking about the infrastructure there in louisiana, louisiana not the only one experiencing problems. missouri highway 44 buckling in the extreme heat. and businesses also affected, many customers staying home until the heat moves on.
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and, of course, following in the footsteps of the midwest, speaking of cooling off, cooling centers also opening up across the northeast to help people do just that, stay cool. wal have some other tips for you to stay safe in the heat; wear loose, lightweight clothing, use sunscreen, limit outdoor activities and check on those most at risk. that, of course, being the elderly and the young. also as you come back out here, wear a hat if talk about provide a little bit of sun protection, and also the most important thing of all, hydration. drink many or a lot of water when you're outside. i know that goes without saying. we say it every single year, but it always helps to be reminded. and take a look at the parked cars along the way. this is what you cannot do, going to repeat this as well, don't leave an elderly person, a child or a pet inside a car because when you talk about the temperatures rising, inside a parked car even with the windows
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cracked the car can heat up almost 20 degrees in just ten minutes. back to you, jon. jon: and in the concrete canyons of new york, 100 degrees feels really hot. >> reporter: yes. jon: heather childers, thank you. >> mission complete, houston. after serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history and has come to a final stop. >> we copy your stop, and we'll take this opportunity to congratulate you, atlantis, as well as the thousands of passionate individuals across this great space-fairing nation who truly empowered this incredible spacecraft which for three decades has inspired millions around the globe. job well done, america. jenna: well, with those words nasa's 30-year space shuttle program came to a dramatic end just this morning. space shuttle atlantis is now home, the final touchdown drawing cheers, and as we hear also some tears from a record crowd in florida.
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phil keating was with that crowd. he's live at the kennedy space center with more. hi, phil. >> reporter: hi. it's absolutely a bit of a some we some -- somber and melancholy day here at the kennedy space center, a lot of crew members as well as the nasa support staff currently having an afternoon soiree at the vehicle deprocessing facility where the atlantis is now booked. but after traveling more than 26 million miles in space since 1985, the space shuttle atlantis landed dramatically as the final space shuttle to complete a mission for the united states' space program. where we go from here? well, there's still a lot of uncertainty about that, but as far as the real uncertainty let's talk about the 9,000 people who will be losing their jobs now that the space shuttle program is retired. 3200 of those layoff slips come first thing tomorrow. it's obvious looking around cape
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canaveral, florida, as to what made this town what it is. even as mcdonald's. this is a nasa town already reeling from recession and now facing the loss of 8,000 more jobs from the space agency and its many contractors like united space alliance. >> it was very exciting for me, very fulfilling and rewarding. >> reporter: after 23 years, bill bender is already out. he used to photograph the trademark booster rocket separations. >> it's very challenging, it's shorer than i -- slower than i anticipated. >> it concerns me, i'm not as young as i was. >> reporter: lisa rice runs a job placement agency with a mammoth challenge. >> there are not 9,000 jobs here in brevard county, there just aren't. there are aren't 9,000 jobs across the region, i'm not even sure there are 9,000 jobs similar in the state of florida. >> reporter: and a lot of those jobs are simply not going
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to rematerialize. however, local economic leaders here are hoping to replace that nasa impact of a billion dollars in salaries to the central florida economy. hopefully, those can be absorbed by the future of private commercial space vehicles like space x and boeing which are in the business of getting cargo and, eventually, humans onboard u.s.-made rockets up to the international space station. but for the moment, at least for the next several years, the u.s. astronaut program will rely on a $65 million price tag to hop a ride onboard the russian soy use model. but 135 space shuttle launches, 133 landings and certainly not forgotten here today by the commander of the atlantis was those two crews of challenger and columbia who, tragically, gave their lives to help pave the way for the future. back to you. jenna: incredible story, and one we'll continue to watch, as you mentioned, phil, what's next for the program overall in if our
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space exploration. phil keating amongst many launches and landings you've seen, phil, thank you very much for us in florida today. jon: so that is the question, what do we do after this? nasa's getting ready for a mission to mar bees, the latest on plans to send the rover curiosity to the red planet. and we have more big stories for you throughout the hour including dealing with our nation' debt crisis, the latest developments, and they seem to change by the minute on capitol hill. we'll have that for you. also, harris live at the dot.com wall with three hot videos, you get to choose the one you want to see, right, harris? is. >> reporter: yeah. exactly what they want to see. and to choose the story that you'd like to see at the bottom of the next hour just go to foxnews.com. you can go to our web page/"happening now." a 62 mile long traffic jam. you think road construction in your commute is bad? yeah, right. you know, i don't see a porta-potty here, and i understand they were there for quite a while.
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we can check out the video and get the rest of the story as to why those people were stuck there. or how long would you live with a snake for a better spiritual life? people believe it leads to salvation, and i've often wondered what exactly does santa claus do in the off season? we're going to find out. it is christmas in july right here on "happening now." you know when something's bad -- but you do it anyway? that's me with the blow dryer and the at iron until i see smoke. so pantene said, "breakage and split ends? no problem." they gave me this pantene called bakage to strength. [ female announcer ] the keratin protection pro-v system helps prevent then repair split ends. zero fear of breakage, 100% more strength. no regrets, just health. i'm not giving up the heat. [ female announcer ] the breakage to strength system from pantene.
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jon: right now washington is playing let's make a mini deal on the debt crisis. the white house says it's now open to temporarily raising the debt ceiling before august 2nd. that's when the treasury says uncle sam will have to pick and choose who gets paid and who doesn't. right now we are awaiting new reaction from house speaker john boehner. you can see the podium there for his regularly-scheduled thursday news conference. meanwhile, our next guest says the u.s. will not default unless president obama wants to, quote, punish america. we're talking to republican congressman steve king of iowa,
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a member of the house tea party caucus. punish america? what do you mean by that, congressman? the. >> well, when the president came out the other day and said he couldn't guarantee that social security payments or military pensions would be paid, that was just -- he had to know that wasn't the truth. um, it was misinformation provided to the american people for a specific purpose, that was scaring seniors. he's the only, he's the only person on the planet that can guarantee that pensions will be paid, that military will be paid, that we'll service our debt and that social security can be paid. so when he tells us he can't guarantee, it's not true. he can, no one else can. the only reason those pensions wouldn't be paid and our debt wouldn't be serviced is if the president decided he was going to teach us all a lesson for asking him to hold down spending with us and be go for a balanced budget amendment. that's the only reason, jon. jon: there are so many scenarios as to what might happen if we don't have a deal by august 2nd
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everything from the sky is going to fall down to, virtually, nothing. how do you see it? what should viewers honestly believe about the effect of not coming to some kind of agreement? >> well, there are two scenarios. if congress doesn't put a prioritization bill on the president's desk for him to sign in this order that pays the military first, services our debt second, social security third and medicare fourth, take the senior issue off the table, if congress doesn't do that, then the president has two scenarios. one is he can do nothing and let all of his agencies do catch as catch can, pay those that they can which would be chaotic. the other thing he could do is set the priorities himself. and a responsible commander in chief sitting in the oval office would have by now assured the world financial markets and the domestic investors in american securities that he will service our debt and pay our troops. he's not done that. the president will have to make those decisions or disease to allow chaos -- or decide to
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allow chaos to ensue, but he's playing the politics of the doubt and be indecision, and he's stoking it, and i think it's irresponsible of the commander in chief to do that. jon: we had some poll numbers up earlier, and i want to share them with you again now. when asked whether americans thought this was going to be catastrophic if congress fails to raise the debt limit, only 39% said, yes. 55% say that it's all exaggeration. does that pretty well square with the things you're hearing from the folks in iowa? >> well, i think so. i think iowans are less gullible, so that 39% number is probably a little less in iowa, but most of us are proud of our constituents and would make that comment. the more information that gets out there, the more people understand about the facts of this they understand the president can set the priorities absent statute that directs him. there really isn't out there except, perhaps, with social security to a small degree. so the longer we talk about this, the less public fear there is and the less leverage the president has to push for a high
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debt ceiling increase. that's really the bottom line, jon. and i think, and i'd ask the speaker's waiting to do his press conference, he might contradict everything identify said, but i'd ask him, let's bring a prioritization bill to the floor, let's pass anytime the senate, let's take this fear factor image off the table and do everything we can to pass a balanced budget amendments and ask the states to save congress from the problem we're unwilling to solve ourselves. jon: i'm sure the speaker is watching "happening now" right now. congressman steve king, you just got the message to him, republican of iowa. thank you. jenna: we'll continue to watch the debt debate that's happening in washington. in the moon time, i know it's -- in the meantime, i know it's only summer, but are you ready for some football? the lockout might be nearing an end. i have a funny sense of déjà vu that we've said that before. so we'll see. we have a live report from atlanta just ahead. plus, brand new poll numbers about the 2012 presidential
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race. how the debt debate may be driving the campaign. we'll be right back. ,
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jenna: a fox news alert, house speak speaker john boehner speaking about the news of the week. let's take a listen. >> there should be real structural reforms to our entitlement programs, and there will be no tax increases. legislation that this tests would be the best approach to help create jobs and get our economy moving again. with all that's at stake right now, it's not enough to wish or to wait for a solution to materialize. and whatever you want to call the approach, it's certainly not leadership. republicans have laid out a responsible and detailed path
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forward, and the house has passed it. the senate should now pass cut, cap and balance, and it's already clear in the house with bipartisan support, and i'm hopeful the senate will do it as well. the ball continues to be in the president's court, and it's been there for some time. if we're going to avoid default and prevent a downgrade of our credit rating, if we're going to create jobs -- jenna: that's speaker john boehner talking about a few different things, the debt ceiling, of course, being one of them. long-term debt reduction, he just mentioned the cut, cap and balance legislation that went through the house, the chances of it going through the senate probably not too good. one senator, senator conrad, calling it the most ill-considered legislation i've ever seen come over from the other body. the speaker will be talking on a whole host of issues. if he makes any more news, we
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will bring you those headlines. jon: well, they're battling about the budget, and thai battling about -- they're battling about the nfl season. the owners are meeting to try to hammer out some kind of deal to save the upcoming football be season. we could have a vote maybe as soon as today. commissioner roger goodell saying he will do whatever is necessary. the sooner a deal goes through, the sooner players and coaches can get back on the field. jonathan serrie live in atlanta. if a deal does get signed, jonathan, how soon would we see the players get back into the locker room? >> reporter: well, jon n a perfect world we'd love to believe the other thans are going to come kind bounding down the hall announcing they have a deal and the team members will immediately return to their teams. in reality, it's more complicated. once a deal is signed, there will be an orientation period to get the owners and the team
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members themselves used to the new rules they're agreeing to. the training camps expected to open sometime over the course of the following week, and, of course, there would be a free agency period. some teams would be cutting members, other teams looking for additional new members. so a fairly lengthy period. now, all this has to be done in advance of preseason which begins its first game on august 7th, that's right around the corner. so folks are saying there's really going to have to be an agreement that's signed not much later than today if they're going to adhere to that very busy schedule, jon. jon: all right. i know you're in atlanta and not las vegas, but what are the odds that they can reach an agreement today? >> it depends on who you talk to. if you talk to the owners, they seemed optimistic as they came in there would be an agreement, but we are hearing that in the meeting room right now there are several bones of contention. a major one is how quickly will the players be able to reconstitute their union?
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they need to unionize before they can sign any collective bargaining agreement. it may take as long as two weeks, but the owners want a much more rapid time frame. jon: jonathan serrie keeping an eye on those negotiations in atlanta. if they get this deal done, let's send the negotiators to capitol hill, and they can work on that budget thing. jon -- jonathan, thank you. jenna: brand new information out of san diego, the son of a major pharmaceutical exec fell down the stairs, later died. the girlfriend also dead. now, one family member is speaking out about this mysterious set of deaths at this mansion. we'll have the latest out of san diego coming up in just a moment. [ male announcer ] succeeding in today's market requires decisive action.
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jon: right now the white house and leaders and capitol hill are trying to come to some sort of debt reduction deal before the august 2nd deadline. take a look at brand-new poll numbers on the 2012 race to occupy that building you just saw, the white house. tech as governor rick perry is close to deciding whether he will run for the republican nomination. in a head-to-head match up this rassmussen poll puts perry at 39% with president obama coming
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in at 44%. we have the organization, rasmussen that took that poll. texas is a big state, has a lot of people in it. for a governor who hasn't even announced he's running, hasn't decided whether he's running, to come in with 39% of the vote in a thee receipt tech le theoretie president, those are pretty good numbers, don't you think, scott. >> much of this polling data is a reflection on the incumbent president rather than any challenging. no matter who we put against the president he attraction that number. jon: when you put michelle bachman in there she got 39% of the votes. the slight difference here is that president obama's number went up slightly to 46% versus 44% for perry.
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but she has the same number he has. >> again, she is considered one of the leading candidates. you'd have to say that mitt romney, perry and bachman are the top three right now. the odds are better than 50-50 that one of them will be the republican nominee. there are interesting differences in the dynamics, michelle bachman does much better among men, and rick perry a again women. jon: generally, i mean the more interesting race, i suppose, for media watchers is the race for second-place. when you put mitt romney up there against president obama he actually wins 43-42%, that's got to be inside the marriag marginf error, though. >> i would consider that a toss up. the last time we had an incumbent president in the race,
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howard dean was a frontrunner e polled best against george w. bush. as soon as john kerry became the frontrunner he polled the best. if anybody bests mitt romney i would expect their numbers to improve. mitt romney is getting 78% of the republican vote for rick perry it's only 69%. a lot of those republicans would come home if he won the nomination. jon: as you were saying before basically anybody who has a big r in front of their name polls pretty well against the sitting president right now. >> yeah, again, the president's numbers are consistency in the 40s no matter what republican is there. if you get to some of the lesser known people like herman cain or jon huntsman thei their numberse lower. this is likely to be a referendum on the citying president. a lot will depend on how the competent does between now and
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2012. jon: you asked voters how closely they are spending attention to the tax, spending and debt sealing debate. you have 48% that are paying very close attention. when you ask them if the coverage and the president agreed to a plan that would raise taxes on the wealthy and cut spending will middle class taxes go up as well, 44% say that is very likely. it sounds like they are not believing all those promises out of washington. >> they certainly don't believe what they are hearing out of washington. they do expect that the end result any time poll situations get together will be higher taxes on the middle class. they are spept cal about spending cuts. you catch a 6-year-old with his hand in the cookie jar and he promises to be good for the rest of his life, you don't really believe him, that's the way people are looking at the proposed pending cuts being talked about in washington. jon: scott rasmussen from
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rasmussen reports. those reports just out in the last hour or so. thank you. jenna: the president is also his party's candidate for the 2012 election. for any candidate as we know fundraising is key. just into our newsroom details on the president's fundraising plan. it includes a recently announced speaker series. mike emanuel is live at the white house to tell us more about that. what exactly is a speaker series and the reasons behind it? >> reporter: for $5,000 you get to attend five events with obama all-stars, insiders, if you will. for example this afternoon former white house chief of staff and current chicago mayor rahm emanuel is heading an even in new york series. that would be the first of five events that you could attend if you're willing to pony up $5,000. bottom line is, even if you're the incumbent president you need to raise a lot of money if you want to top what president obama did in 2008. here is one expert's take on
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this fundraising activity. >> a billion dollars is a lot of money even for a president. it puts a lot of pressure on their fundraisers. they have to come up with creative gimmicks to raise the money, and they do, because it's their job, and they have to produce. >> reporter: bottom line, president of the oo united stat, whoever he is has a demanding day job. president obama is not traveling these days due to the debt crisis here in washington, so if the president is not headlining an event the vice president or first lady could also headline events, but this is a new way to get some campaign cash by giving people an insider's feel by hearing from these distinguished speakers that have worked closely with the president. jenna: hats off to anyone who has to handle his schedule. there are different things to balance. what is the white house saying about this fundraising issue this year? >> reporter: they are
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essentially saying that they are doing what other administrations have done. eric schultz says as has been the consistent practice for prior administrations officials in their private time can and do engage in political work on behalf of the president. administrative officials are also permitted to speak at, attend and be the featured guests at political events, including fundraisers but they cannot and do not personally solicit contributions. that saoeplts tthat seems to be. you can be there, talk, you can rally the troops but don't personally ask for the cash. jenna: we'll keep everybody informed about all the different angles leading up to 2012. thank you. jon: information new on two bizarre deaths in one week at a california mansion. the 6-year-old son of pharmaceutical executive jonah shacknai found dead after supposedly falling down the stairs. day after that fall shacknai's girlfriend was found dead hanged
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from a balcony. her sister is saying it was no suicide. adam housley is live in los angeles. what is the latest, adam. >> reporter: investigators still saying nothing, rile. they say they are not sure if it's a suicide or a homicide. they haven't closed the door on either. they are waiting for toxicology results and other tests to come back, they will combine that with the autopsy. they suspect that could be as soon as the end of next week, potentially the first part of the following week, which would be about three or four weeks ahead of schedule. they have definitely put this into the fast track to get the information in. at this point they say everyone is cooperating. everyone they contacted that was at the mansion in san diego has spoken with hem. i did say to the sergeant, i said when you talk about a suicide you don't generally hear of people tying their own hands, their own feet, and he said that it wasn't out of the question. take a listen. >> people are very creative, whether it's working with homicide, or in a suicide
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situation. they put a lot of thought into how they are going to do that, if it's a suicide, or vice versa. so, again, we always want to step back, and it may seem odd to anybody looking in, but you really have to look at facts. >> reporter: the sheriff's department says they have 15 of their best detectives working on this right now. the death of max shacknai he was a 6-year-old who fell down the shares last monday and then died the girlfriend rebecca nalepa, was apparently the one in charge of him when he fell down the stairs. she was found hanging a few days later. her family has spoken for the last couple of days that she was not suicidal. this was not someone who had that type of mindset. they come out with a statement today reiterating that. that says in part, obviously the investigation is not complete yet. as far as what i know about my sister, my sister did not commit a suicide. my sister was not depressed. shyster was not frantic.
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shyster was planning to cull my parents the next day and keep me posed about max the next day. that is from her sister. jonah shacknai the father and boyfriend has gone back to arizona to make funeral arrangements for his young son. once again investigators are telling us that every single person they've spoken to who they believe was at that mansion at this point is cooperating and they are not yet ready to determine what happened to the girlfriend rebecca. jon. jon: very strange story and very stad. adasad. adam housley, yes. jenna: we are getting word on nasa's next big mission. next time, guess what? we are going to mars. why and what we're looking for just ahead. ♪ don't stop believing hold onto
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that feeling. ♪
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jenna: nasa's 30-year space shuttle program is now over. astronauts completing their commission landing for the final time at the kennedy space center. up next for nasa, there is a next step, a journey to mars. the space agency getting ready to launch the rover curiosity to the red planet. tomorrow nasa will announce the landing site. dr.~michio kaku a physics professor at the university of new york is here with us to talk a little bit about more about this. where is the rover going. >> reporter: every two years nasa has a clear shot at marks ars, a window opens up.
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we are going to take skrapbg of it over thanksgiving. there are two landing sites one of which will be picked out tomorrow. the key thing is that liquid water once flowed freely on the surface of mars and journalists say follow the money, scientists say follow the water. jenna: eights a robot. >> reporter: it's a robotic exploration of mars, like the spirit an opportunity that landed several years ago. it's a jam-packed science mission. it's called the mars science laboratory. they'll lock for evidence of life, fossils, any evidence of life on mars. jenna: do you think they will find it? >> reporter: so far we have found nothing, it's a frozen desert. it's frozen solid. years and years ago it was tropical. it was tropical before the earth got tropical. most think dna got started on earth. jenna: do you believe in that. >> reporter: if that theory is through that means if you're looking in the mirror tonight you're looking at a martian.
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jenna: i feel like that sometimes. that is so extraordinary. basically this mission, and it's a two-year mission, is that right. >> reporter: every two years we have a clear shot at mars. jenna: the robot will be there for a while. call it by its name, curiosity. >> reporter: it will be a long mission, opportunity is still working on mars. jenna: we know that announcement will be tomorrow. there are some developments, i can't call it a planet any more in and around pluto, and that also is a discovery from some of our great people. even though some of the shuttle program is stopping we are making discoveries in space. >> reporter: the robotic exploration in space continues. the hubble has found a new baby in the solar system. pluto has four pups, the telescope over a distance of 3 billion miles found the fourth pup of pluto.
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jenna: a pup is a little moon. >> reporter: it's a little moon going around pluto. in 2015 the new horizon spacecraft will take a picture of the new edition to the solar system. jenna: real quick here, we are ending this great moment in our nation's history, this project that we did, the shuttle missions. there is in feeling that we're going to be losing out to other people with exploration of space, but we are going to mars, we are going to pluto in different ways. are we really losing out? is america losing out. >> reporter: we have to get used to the fact that the next flag planted on the moon will be chinese. the chinese are going full blast going to the moon, we'll have to get used to it. president obama has made vague references about going to mars maybe this curiosity project will pave the way to mars. that is 20, 30 years in the distance. it's not clear. the danger is that nasa will be an agency to nowhere. jenna: and you mentioned the job losses. we appreciate having you.
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and appreciate your expertise. we'll continue to follow these developments. i like the little tiny moon out there pluto. thank you sr-fpl. we'll be back with more "happening now" "happening now" "
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jon: there is a brand-new -- we're talking about afghanistan, guys, is that what we're doing? all right. a brand-new report on the war in afghanistan finds that billions of taxpayer collars sent over there may have ended up in the hands of terrorists. jennifer griffin has that live from the pentagon. jennifer. >> reporter: hi, jon. well there are a lot of examples of corruption that has already been reported on in the past, but one principle example that this report outlines is remember at the kabul international
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airport, afghan vip's were literally putting millions of dollars in suitcases and taking them out of kabul to banks in the gulf states in dubai. the u.s. trerb kraoe ride to help the hamid karzai government crackdown on that, what happened according to those reports is the vip's bypassed the airport taking their vehicles on to the tarmac of the airport and onto the planes and loading the bags. it got so dangerous, there were so many vehicles on the tarmac that they scrapped the plans to looking into vip's bags. there are millions of dollars flowing out of the country through cab bull international airport, jon. jon: there is evidence that the aid money from the united states is ending up in the taliban? >> reporter: there certainly are suggestions of that. no hard and fast examples. if you listen to the report's author he says, quote, the united states has poured
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billions of aid dollars into a country plagued by corruption, insurgents and narcotics trade. it is imperative that we use tools to combat this. that money with all the corruption and nothing having been done about it, it's ending up -- possibly ending up in the hands of the taliban, jon. jon: jennifer griffin at the pentagon, thank you. jenna: we know many of you are not too happy about the latest from the tsa, as far as these scanners that are happening in the airports. don't like the pat-downs as well. now we have big changes coming to these scanners. harrison is going to be with us with the details straight ahead. ♪ hold me, squeeze me, drive me crazy, touch me all night long. ♪
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>> nose gear touched down. having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time, its voyage at an end. jenna: perfect words chosen, right. america's space shuttle program ending. shuttle atlantis landing before sunrise at the kennedy space center. a bittersweet end to nasa's 30-year shuttle program. we are awaiting a news conference from the crew expected to begin at any moment. harris is watching that from across the newsroom. harris. >> reporter: you and i have talked about this before, we love the space program.
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also added to those words today, jobs well done america, because so much has gone into the past 30 years of technology, with all of the work that gave people jobs with the nasa program here. it's expected to be taken over by private companies with next stops for astronauts hopefully in the newt to be an astroid and then mars. that is the plan. we are waiting to hear from the four astronauts that just returned from the international space station in triumph today touching down with no fanfare other than the hundreds of people who were gathered there to cheer them in. a lot of people sleeping through this. with you anxious to hear. they held a news conference a little bit earlier so we could hear from the scientists and the officials who put this one, but we want to hear from the actual crew on board that final shuttle, atlantis. i'll be watching for that, and satellite acquisitions as that comes in. we'll bring you those live pictures if possible as well. a huge, huge moment for this
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country, and putting its place on the map and part of the world history here through this portion of our space exploration. back to you, jenna and tkpwo*pb. jon. jenna: imagine what that crew is feeling. we just saw live pictures of them settling if for the news conference. jon: feeling a little weak after two weeks in space. jenna: probably had a pretty busy morning. it puts everything in perspective. the chaos on capitol hill. people wrangling over deals. we just sent people to space, you'd think we could get this done. jon: you'd think. jenna: you'd think. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the cap and cut deal is not getting a warm reception in the senate. it is likely to go down in defeat with no resolution to the problem in sight. default day 12 days away now.
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doug mcelway on capitol hill for us. tell us you're seeing signs of progress, please. >> reporter: this morning we saw what might be, what some speculate might be just a tiny shift in the debate. when tkpwroefr norqui st told th"the washington post" editoril board that allowing the bush tax cuts to expire would not necessarily be a tax increase. listen to the number two house democrat in the house, steny hoyer react to that comment. >> the cost of extending president george bush's tax cuts for another decade could be pursued without being accused of breaking their promise said grover norquist. this is a quote. not continuing a tax put is not technically a tax increase.
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>> reporter: could that be the shift that would make the republicans on the house side see the gang of six proposal much more amenable? right now we don't know that, but one thing we can say with all certainty, and this is the bad news, that the flurry of back and forth between senate democrats and house republicans continues unabated. listen to senate majority leader harry reid this morning lamb baste house republicans for not staying in session this weekend. >> this is a very bad picture for our country to have the house of representatives out this weekend when we have to likely wait for them to send us something, because i understand the negotiations taking place deal with revenues, which constitutionally have to start in the house of representatives. i think it is just untoward, and that's the kindest word i can say to have the house of representatives out this weekend. what a bad picture that shows.
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>> reporter: listen to the return volley from eric cantor. he says what is the senate doing today? what i thought i heard you say eug sitting around for two days deciding to vote on the work the house has already done. it's a reference to the cut, cap and balance which the senate is now debating to move forward on as we speak, jon. jon: what happens? cut, cap and balance, it's in the senate's lab, they are going to debate it and then, vote, what a couple of days from now? >> reporter: if they can get cloture on it they will debate on it. how is it going over among senate democrats, listen to kent conrad one of the authors of the gang of six plan react to the cut, cap and balance bill, here help is. >> they call this plan, cut, cap and balance. they should have called it cut, cap and kill medicare, because that's really what this plan would do. it would cut, cap and kill
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medicare. >> reporter: he also said that this was the single worst piece of legislation that he has ever seen come over to the senate from the other body. these are harsh, harsh words. bottom line these two bodies are very, very apart. never mind the white house component of this. obviously, jon, it is appearing increasingly obvious that some sort of short term plan will be needed to get this done. jon: let's get the grown ups to washington. thank you. jenna: they are over the name calling and everything else. democratic senator jean sahean, and senator bob corker of tennessee. we'll see what they have to say. both will be joining us on the efforts to close the debt crisis. if you have any questions join us online at
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foxnews.com/"happening now." for the past few months the fed has been working closely with the treasury, working out what to do if it returns out of money to pay its bills. the fed, effectively the treasury's banker is working out procedures to let it know which checks to clear for payment and which checks to bounce. probably some tough, tough talks there, jon to try to make this decision. jon: i may have bounced a check or two in my day. jenna: by accident. jon: completely by accident. and i didn't get a whole lot of forgiveness from my bank. nice to have the fed behind you if you're the u.s. treasury. news american travelers want to hear, the tsa is out with new software to make us look a little less naked in those airport scanners. harris has the details for us. >> reporter: i think you put it best, jon, you put that really well. that's in fact what it will do. instead of the actual image of
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you walking through the scanners it will be a generic gray thing in the shape of our bodies but it won't actually be our bodies. it will show the hot spots if there is anything to look for, from this you can't tell who the heck that might be. you might call this a back up plan in fact, after six months of testing the tsa has unveiled their new software to be able to do this. they took a lot of grief over people not wanting to see them nude on the scanners, and where the pictures may be captured or forwarded to. now they don't have to do that. the actual body is now being looked at in a generic way. something that is not changing the invasive body pat-downs. if you decide you don't want to do this. oh, no i don't want to go through the scan err. then they'll go to work and do what they have been doing. this changes the digital portion of their scanning. we'll see what feedback there will be. 41 airports across the country are set up with the millimeter wave machines and this through
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software will work in the 41 airport machines. back to you. jon: i get uncomfortable watching the pat-down video. >> reporter: i learn so much about you ever every day. i just learned you bounced checks before. jon: it was probably when i came out of college. >> reporter: i know, it was an accident, you were young. jon: yeah. harris thafrpblgts you're welcome. jenna: major developments in the search fear a missing journalist in libya. matthew vandyke has been missing for months. his mother says he was spotted in a libyan prison. we hear the state department is working to confirm if it's really him inside that prison. the news comes as rebel fighters threaten a calf r-r stronghold in the south and find for control of an eastern oil head. we find leland vittert streaming live from misrata. leland. >> reporter: jenna it's still a case despite all of the action
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we're seeing, all of the weapons that are going off, all the ammunition that is being used, two steps forward, two steps back for these rebels. a couple of days ago they were very happy as they pushed out of misrata about 15 miles from where we're at toward a calf r-r stronghold. today we are hearing calf r-r has counter attacked using tanks and leveled parts of the outskirts of that town therefore pushing the rebels back. it's a continuation of the storyline, the rebels are ill prepared, ill equipped and ill trained to deal with a massive counter attack. the same thing is going on in the battle of brega. it's tra staoepblg i can lee important because it's an oil town, which is what the rebels want to be able to sell oil and get money to continue their war effort. calf r-moammar qaddafi water tod onto brega. evidently they've laid along the mines all around the town of
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brega which makes it difficult for the rebels to advance. they don't have training to be able to clear the mines. we've seen pictures of the rebels with pool cues trying to clear the land mines. this is anything but a fair fight. they want to rap it up in two weeks before ramadan. that will be tough. jenna: thank you. jon: the deadly heatwave gripping the entire nation shows no signs of letting up. nearly two dozen people reportedly are dead as temperatures soar well into the triple digits across much of the country. the danger zone stretches from the plains to the northeast. while kids may be having fun all doors, all this heat is making many adults extremely cranky. >> i'm hot and sweaty and not in a very good mood. >> very, very breathtaking, takes your breath away, who the tee, sweaty, gross. >> you have to worry about heatstroke, exhaustion, that's why i have my water in my hand which i almost never run with.
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jon: the sweltering heat also very hard on plants as well as animals. live from cleveland we have stacy frye. >> reporter: good afternoon, i've got to tell you the weather is not making me cranky. the last time we spoke i was whining about the cold and snow. a lot of people in cleveland soaking this up with pless lawyer. it's 95 degrees, with all the humidity we have it feels ten to 15 degrees higher than that. excessive heat warnings cover much of the state. for that reason obviously there is a lot of concern for people, as you mentioned, for pets, for small eurp children for the elderly. city of cleveland actually is doing new things for them. they started a new donation of fan program, they are calling on the elderly, calling them on the phone if they don't get an answer then they are actually physically going and knocking on doors, donating fans wherever they can that have been given to the city. that is a brand-new this year program for them.
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kids who are in camp the camp counselors are extending the hours spent at pool because we don't need a lot of hot sweaty cranky kids or someone who runs into problems. honestly it doesn't get that hot that often here in cleveland, although the summer has been pretty warm, this could be the hottest day in 15 years here. actually we've only hit 100 eleven times 19 times in cleveland, so. we'll take it and we'll take it with precautions and enjoy it where we can and take the shade where we can and walk around with lots of bottles of water. jon: betty white has that show on another network, heisman trophy hot in cleveland, i think it fits the show. >> reporter: it is. who knew. jon: thank you. jenna: the so-called safari bandit strikes again. what cops are doing to track him down and how you can help.
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votes coming in on today's must-see moment. harris what do we have so far. >> reporter: people definitely have an idea of what they want to see. if you want to find out or vote you've got to go to foxnews.com. click on jon and jen a's beautiful picture at the top and it will take you to our "happening now" page. on the right hand side about midway down you choose which story you'd like to see and learn more about. it's the 62-mile long traffic jam. what in the world would causeo t with it. i'm hungry thinking about them sitting there for hours. a spiritual journey of living with a snake in your house for a month and a half. do you want to know more about that. or santa, christmas in july do you want to see why they've traded in their sleighs for bumper cars. it's all up to you. it's on "happening now." we can't wait for you to vote and tell everybody what you've chosen. go to foxnews.com.
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jon: right now the f.b.i. is trying to identify a bank robber they've dubbed the satisfactory far reu bandit. he has hit two banks in southern california. both times he wore a disguise like this to cover up his appearance. >> reporter: the victim tellers police say he is particularly frightening. a redondo beach bank and a monteceito bank he has hit in the last couple of weeks. law enforcement in sapbt bash and los angeles are seek being the public's help and trying to figure out who this guy is. by the way the tellers say they don't think his mustache and sideburns are real. he hands them a 3x 5 note in all capital bold letters advising them that they had better turn over the cash and they are being
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robbed at that time. the satisfactory tpaf reu bandit is described as so because of the way he is dressed. he is a white male, immediate build, brown hair. they don't know the color of his eyes. he always has on the hat. they don't think the mustache, or the sideburns is real necessarily. they have this via bank surveillance footage that has come into them. here is the tip line if you think you can help police identify this guy. it is the number on the screen. while this guy may not have been violent yet they never know what may happen. they always ask the public, if you see them call the number, don't try to take matters into your own hands if you're inside the bank, back to you. jon: what a get up. harris, thank you. jenna: fixing america's debt crisis, washington is no stranger to last-minute deals. the veteran of budget battles
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tells us why he sees no hope for one this time. plus new information on the three hikers swept over a waterfall at yosemite national work and the fateful event that led to the accident. >> they were taking a simple trip. i talked to them a few nights ago. and it's hard to fathom the fact that we may never see them again. nasty. vile. but i used tide and tide booster, and look at them now! now they can be my thing forever. yay. that's my tide. what's yours? i use tide sport because it helps get odors out of athletic clothes. i mean, i wear my yoga pants for everything. hiking, biking, pilates... [ woman ] brooke... okay. i wear yoga pants because i am too lazy for real pants. that's my tide. what's yours?
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jenna: a search is underway in california's yosemite national park after three friends are swept over a major waterfall. now we have new information on just exactly how this happened. apparently two of them reportedly crossed the metal barricades to get to a rock in the middle of a swift river so the other could take a picture.
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one slipped, between the other two lost their footing and fell in trying to save their friend. the rushing river swept all three over this waterfall 317 feet up. vernal false in yosemite one of the most beautiful sites there, obviously very dangerous. so far there is no sign of these three hikers and little hope they will be found alive. we'll keep you updated as we get more information. jon: not a lot of hope in washington right now either. the federal reserve is making contingency plans in case of a government default after august 2nd, which is a good thing after you hear from our next guest, a budget veteran, who is not optimistic that we're going to see some kind of a debt deal in time. we're talking about stan kalander, the author of the guide to the federal budget, a former staff member of both house and senate committees.
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he's founder of the financial blog, capital gains and games. you say whatever games that are going on you are not confident that they will come to an agreement that prevents default. >> i really am not. what i've been telling my clients is there's less than 50% chance that they will get this done by august 2nd. one, the deals they are talking about are two big, two complicated, second, and more importantly the politics seems to be inc intractable. getting something done by august 2nd other than a simple extension of the debt ceiling might be very difficult. jon: the house members are supposed to answer to the voters every two years. the founding fathers devised a pretty ingenious electoral schedule there. they saw what happened to so many of their members the last time around, a lot of tea party support elected new members to congress.
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isn't that an indication to the senate of the direction the country is thinking, the emotion? >> reporter: the tep people claim to have 60 firm supporters, maybe there are another 20 or 30 in the house but they are not the majority of both houses. there have been senators that have been elected in the last election who also are responsible for the people, but this is a case where you should not be playing with the full faith and credit of the united states. the implications to the economy almost immediately will be devastating. and we just shouldn't go there. i had no problem with deficit reduction, i consider myself a deficit hawk, but to use the debt ceiling for this purpose, you know, could easily bring down the financial system in the ways that we wouldn't have even imagined in 2008 when we did have a crisis. jon: you're not one of those who says that, you know, if we do hit this august 2nd date without some kind of an agreement that it's going to be sort of a minor blimp -p. you think it's serious, serious
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stuff. >> reporter: first of all nobody knows for sure since we've never really b been in and. i don't want to take the risk and when you have the major rating agencies saying they will downgrade u.s. debt. pension funds and others may have to start divest themselves also of u.s. debtor not be able to by it with the lower rate r-g. with the likely increases in interest rates and projection this morning that the stock market could fall by 3% literally overnight, that is not the kind of thing you want to take -- do anything to even threaten, or -- i happen to think that the disaster would be long-lived and we would go long beyond when this situation is finally resolved. jon: there are all these plans out there, there was cut, cap and balance in the house. the senate doesn't seem to much like it. you also have this gang of six plan, there are some possibilities, i guess. >> reporter: but none of the possibilities that are currently being talked about are acceptable in both houses. you know, all of these there are
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elements of all of them that given the right time, the right place we should be able to consider some of them, get them enacted, et cetera, but when you've got less than two weeks before the debt of the united states becomes problematic when the full faith of the united states starts to become questioned by those around the world, this is just not something -- thinks not something that we should be using as a lever. let's get beyond this. pass an increase in the debt ceiling and then keep talking about deficit reduction. jon: stan coll efrbglender, tha. jenna: over protected, that is the question we're asking today, have american playgrounds become too safe? some doctors say we may be over doing it, and our children cannot face their fears, jon. jon: hum. jenna: we'll ask an expert coming up. [ male announcer ] this...is the network --
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jenna: even as the clock ticks on the nation's debt ceiling the so-called "gang of six" plan to rein in spending is gaining some steam it seems so in the senate. among other provisions it cuts spending and raises additional revenues. unof its supporters so far, senator jeanne shaheen, democrat from new hampshire joins us today. senator, it can be difficult
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but the debt ceiling and this long-term debt solution are two separate things but related because we're trying to negotiate on both of them. so i want that to be clear for our viewers. >> right. jenna: let's start with the debt ceiling first of all. we're hearing more talk about a temporary extension for the debt ceiling. would you vote for that? would you be for that? >> well i think it depends on what it looks like. it's clear we have two-part problem. the first part is we have to raise the debt ceiling. i think there is a lot of misunderstanding why we have to do that. we have to do that to insure that we pay for all the expenses that we've incurred. not to increase spending. it is to basically pay the debt of the united states of america. and we can not allow a default on our debt ceiling because that would have huge ramifications for business, for average families out there, who have to pay their mortgage payment, their credit card. it would have crescendo effect that could put us back into a recession.
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so that is not something i think any of us want to happen. jenna: so push came to shove, to avoid this august 2nd deadline, it seems like you're saying that you would be for something that would at least make sure we're paying our bills which would be a temporary raise in the debt ceiling? >> well, we have to raise the debt ceiling. there is no option i believe for that. and we haven't seen what the various plans are. i know they're still negotiating, negotiations going on but i'm hopeful they're going to come up with something that will allow us to raise the debt ceiling and give us time to negotiate on a long-term debt and deficit reduction package because not only do we need to raise the debt ceiling but we also need to deal with this country's debt and deficits so we can put us on a long-term, positive, economic path that can help give businesses certainty and create jobs for people. jenna: so let's get to that long-term package, the one that has been discussed in,
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well not a whole great amount of detail by the "gang of six" but it seems like so far there has been some positive reception and i have read that you're positive on it until this point. again we're still looking for details. one of the parts of this plan talks about reducing tax breaks for certain segment of the population. specifically the middle class, when it comes to mortgage interest, health insurance, charitable giving, reducing the tax breaks but not necessarily eliminating them. democrats says they don't want to raise taxes on the middle class and republicans don't want to raise taxes on anybody? does this have a chance of passing? are you shined reducing some of the tax breaks so we have compromise here on a long-term debt solution? >> well we still have to work out some of the details and certainly i don't like everything that i've heard about this package. i think it is a bipartisan, balanced approach. it puts everything on the table.
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discretionary spending, mandatory programs, defense spending and revenues. and i think that's very important. and one of the approaches that it takes is try to simplify our tax code and make it fairer both for individuals and for business. and so it takes a look at those tax expenditures, what are called tax expenditures, so things like loopholes that allow people to get write i don't haves or yachts and for race horses also as you point out for other things like home mortgage payments. i think there is a compromise to be reached on some of these that will allow us to get rid of onerous tax expenditures and keep what's important to the middle class. certainly i support that. jenna: seems like both sides of the aisle people agree the tax code could be simplified. we'll see if that is something that can be grown upon for more compromise. a quick final question for you. you're the first woman in our country's history to be a governor and also a united
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states senator, a pretty interesting fact. >> it is. it is surprising. jenna: it is surprising. as a governor you balanced your budget and you had to reach for consensus. now you're in the senate. why is it so difficult, why is it done on state level and it is done by many states. why can't we find consensus here? what do you really think is holding up everything? >> boy, jenna, that's one of the things i've been very frustrated about since i've been here. the fact i think we've got to figure out how to work in a bipartisan way. we need to put aside the posturing and recognize that whatever, when you're working in the best interests of the country, you have to be willing to compromise and you have to be willing to negotiate. we all have our bottom lines but we also have to be willing to compromise and that means everybody. gives up something. jenna: we'll see if we can do it. it is an interesting perspective and we appreciate having yours today, senator. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. jenna: just ahead we'll be talking to tennessee senator
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bob corker, a republican. he is saying the same thing. everybody stop the name-calling. let's get something done. he is behind this "cut, cap and balance" plan in the senate. that doesn't have a lot of support. we'll talk to him in a few minutes what is happening in d.c.. jon: politics is the art of the possible, right? just ahead, congressman allen west he is saying he will not apologize for a strongly-worded e-mail he set to his fellow florida member of congress, congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz. peter doocey live for us in washington. peter. >> reporter: a lot of people startled by the strong words that congressman west addressed to congressman schultz called her despicable and not a lady. stuart varney this morning asked if he would take any of that back and he said no way. >> there are certain ways we speak in the military. i haven't learned the inside
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talk some people are used to. don't poke me in the chest is the bottom line to that exchange. >> reporter: west tweeted this, the u.s. is in crisis and everyone wants to talk about congressional members not getting along. it's insulting to americans wasting airtime on this he is not apologizing. in fact congressman west's spokeswoman said he is waiting for wasserman schultz saying she is sorry and she hasn't said anything close to that. she did suggest that west might want to start updating his resume'. >> he is clearly feeling the pressure. if he can't handle that pressure, canned handled being called out in debate on the house floor he should probably change his position. >> reporter: congressman west spoke to republican whip kevin mccarthy and after the chat he thinks gop leadership has got his back. across the aisle, scores of democrats. he put out this statement he is strong saying quote. public opinion of policy makers is already quite low. why in the world would west
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want to undermine it further stooping to undiplomatic demagoguery not unlike the pastor in florida burning koran knowing all too well the media frenzy. this action by west is hardly different. anybody can get a strong words in, get a few jabs in doing just that. jon: that is a fascinating case study to watch. peter doocy, live in washington, thank you. congressman west will be martha macallum's guest coming up on "america live". you will not want to miss that. stick around after "happening now.". jenna: is there such a thing as keeping your kids to save? to save, is that possible? jon: my kids made it through childhood. jenna: we're not talking about lindsay lohan by the way. i guess that question couldp a ply to her. jon: i wouldn't let my kids right in a car with her, that's all. jenna: there is new report on playground peril and how is it could impact your children for the rest of their lives. wait until you hear this. we have that straight ahead.
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>> today on "america live" we get back to the issue that is the most important one right now for americans and that is jobs. with a measly 21,000 plus created in the last two months, and nasa, cisco, and borders among those who are announcing new job cuts, we asked this question. is the administration helping or hurting the economy? join us for a panel debate on that. also joining us today, the parents of the missing mom of triplets. we will talk to them about why their son-in-law is openly mocking those who are out searching for their daughter. we'll get their answers to that. and also allen west is with us today. do you think it is hot outside, folks? step into his office for a minute. he is here to clear a few things up that he wants to say this afternoon on "america live". he is also going to tell you what you may not know the whole story here. interesting stuff. that is straight ahead. we'll see you at the top of the hour here on "america live".
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jenna: we just spoke to democratic senator jeanne shaheen about competing debt plans on capitol hill. tennessee senator bob corker is a republican on the senate banking committee. he is a original cosponsor of the "cut, cap and balance" here to talk to us about latest happening in d.c. last week you said this about the senate. you said the senate is the most dysfunctional place i've ever been in my life. that was last wednesday. in a week, has that changed? >> i think it is probably gotten more that way. think about it. we passed a spending bill out of the senate yesterday, yet 813 days since we've had a budget. so unfortunately this body and the house combined have gotten to a place unless there's a crisis or something that is right behind, we're not going to do anything that involves making tough decisions. so i do support the cut, cap and balance. i think you know that for a long, long time now i've had
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a cap act, the only bill that i know of that has bipartisan, bicameral support that's been offered and the "cut, cap and balance" act that we'll be voting on hopefully tomorrow is something that takes many of the components that i've been advocating for a long time, putting a fiscal straitjacket in place for congress. it takes that and takes it a step further. so obviously i will be at the press conference a little later today. we'll talk about it on the senate side. hopefully it is something that can be supported. i think what the american people are watching is the fact that congress has devolved to a point where unless there's a crisis, unless there is some kind of mechanism that forces us to do something, we will not act. and i think that's a shame. i don't think that's what the american people want to see here in washington. jenna: senator, according to a latest "fox news poll", americans do not have a whole lot of confidence in the government. we can only speculate as to why but some of the reasons you point out probably resonate with a few of our viewers right now. what you're say something
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also interesting. you're talking about reaching across the aisle and compromise but you know this "cut, cap and balance" plan doesn't have a lot of support in the senate. republicans do not have the majority. >> right. jenna: some are saying it is dead upon arrival. we have this deadline as far as the debt ceiling on august 2nd. you have long-term debt packages you want to work through. >> right. jenna: if you're friendly behind this plan how will you reach across the aisle to making is work here? >> well, as i mentioned one of the components of this, the cap act, which really eliminates or calls spending to go from where we are today at levels we haven't seen since 1945 relative to our economy when we were trying to end world war ii, takes it down to 20.6%. that's an act that is not exactly reflected in this bill that is coming over from the house but it's something that i produced. it does have bipartisan, bicameral support. so i have been reaching across the aisle to solve this problem this entire year. so whether the outcome is as you say, or whether there is
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momentum behind it, i stand here ready to do those things we need to do to cut spending in washington. every american knows that needs to be done. i just came from a meeting where all kind of options are looked at, depending what happens with this "cut, cap and balance" vote tomorrow but, look, this is serious issue. it's very important to americans. even if we were able to get past this debt ceiling vote, if we don't do something dramatic, the bond market will leave us. the markets are going to leave us because we haven't made those tough decisions. so --. jenna: what are the ideas? you mentioned being in a meeting. what other ideas are being put on the table? >> well, i mean there are all kinds. the cut piece. what kind of major down payment, what kind of major down payment can we come up with to go ahead and reduce spending now? what kind of a straightjacket can we put in place to make sure that continues?
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if this, you know, i actually would rather see what the outcome is before i go to the third component but the point is, there are serious discussions by serious people who are trying to solve this problem and --. jenna: those discussions now different than the discussions that have been happening over the last several weeks and -- >> say again? jenna: i said what a difference about these serious discussions now that hasn't been happening over the last several weeks and months that has gotten something done? are you seeing a change? are you seeing hope? are you seeing something being able to be produced? >> look, i'm hopeful we'll have a successful vote on the "cut, cap and balance" as you can imagine. i know some people are saying what you've said earlier but i think people realize we're getting very, very close to this date. are there other ideas that have not been thrown out? should this not be successful and i hope that it is. those are the kind of discussions that are taking place and look, we all know we have an issue before us. we all know this is serious. let me, i know you're ending
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but this points to the fact that congress will not act unless it is forced to. we've got to have some mechanism here, jenna, that makes us do the things that every american knows we have to do. that's a shame. that's what i call dysfunctional but unfortunately it is that type of mechanism that is going to have to act to be in place to save our country candidly. to save our country. jenna: i love to talk to you more about that in the future because we haven't had a balance budge amendment for the constitution since it has been in place. interesting to see why now we need need something done. appreciate your perspective and look forward to talking to you again. thank you. >> thank you. jon: both houses of congress are not doing very well at playing together. what about the playground in your town? no parent wants an unsafe playground but could some updated playground equipment with the lower bars, the soft landing, could it be to save?
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dr. jeffrey gardere joins us right now coming up
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jon: all right. in these dog days of summer a lot of kids are doing what they do best, playing around. a lot of parents don't want their parents getting hurt, i'm sorry, don't want their children getting hurt there is a new report out suggesting we might be making playgrounds to save because all the safety equipment prevents children from learning some of the hard knocks of life. with us now, psychologist, dr. jeffrey gardere. what do you think about that? >> well, jon, what we're seeing now a lot of playgrounds are what we call safety first playgrounds. jon: right. >> so when you put safety first, it tell me we're not
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really thinking about the needs of the kids. we're looking at issues of liability for the cities, for the manufacture you ares of the equipment and so on. jon: rubber padding and jungle gyms not higher than four, five, six feet, that kind of thing? >> that sort of thing. look, it's good stuff. it does help the kids with seeing injury rates starting to fall. but on the flip side of that, what we're also seeing, kids are not learning the developmental skills that they need to be able to mature through. quite often when they're not facing any risk whatsoever, then later on in life they become fearful of anything that becomes a challenge. so, we have to try to find that balance somewhere along the line of having safety for kids but still getting them the thrills that they need and there will be a little risk to that and, that's part of life anyway. jon: a skinned knee and maybe even a broken arm or something is part of childhood? >> god forbid, that is part
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of growing up but a study has shown, children, for example, who may break a bone before age of nine or have an injury tend to later on in life one who is have less phobias about heights and danger. this is part of growing up that there needs to be some risk while at the same time looking at safety for the kids too. jon: interesting stuff, dr. jeffrey gardere. thank you. >> great to see you. jon: jenna? jenna: we'll be right back with our must-see moment hey, the new guy is loaded with protein!
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really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure hh protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! jenna: well, today's must-see moment, the viewers cast their votes online and chose this massive traffic jam. it's for real in china. 62 miles long, a traffic jam happening there. can you imagine being stuck there? what are you going to do? jon: that's days of inactivity, i think. jenna: there's a lot of construction going on, roads and infrastructure be being built, and some of that construction is

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